Traction wheel for garden tractors



y 1951 H. c. ESCH 2,558,833

TRACTION WHEEL FOR GARDEN TR'ACTORS Filed July 25, 1947 Inventor Herman C. E sch Patented July 3, 1951 UNlTED STATES PATENT QFFICE TRACTION WHEEL FOR GARDEN TRACTORS Herman C. Esch, Cherryvale, Kans.

Application July 23, 1947, Serial No. 762,937

1 Claim. (01. 3016) The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in garden tractors, and particularly to a traction wheel for the tractor.

An important object of the present invention is to construct the traction wheel to include a belt pulley as a part thereof for driving the wheel.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the pulley may be carried at either side of the wheel and in which one flange of the pulley is integrally formed as a part of the casting of the wheel.

Another object is to provide a traction wheel embodying a hollow drum construction and composed of circumferential half sections secured to each other and in which each half section is provided with cleats integrally cast therewith.

A still further object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is strong and durable, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a garden tractor embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the traction wheel; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the detachable flange of the pulley.

Referring now to the drawing in detail wherein, for the purpose of illustration, I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 5 designates a conventional type of garden tractor including a power plant or engine 6 for driving a traction wheel 1 journaled on a transverse axle S.

The traction wheel I is constructed in the form of a drum composed of a pair of circumferentially divided half sections 9 and 19 to provide tread portions H which are suitably secured at their abutting edges l2 by welding or the like. The tread portion of each section of the drum is provided with cleats i3 integrally cast therewith. Each section of the drum also includes a hub M which is journaled on the shaft 6.

The outer side of each section of the drum is offset outwardly concentrically, and is formed with radially spaced apart inner and outer shoulders l5 and IE to form a fixed pulley flange ll integrally cast at each side of the drum and offset outwardly from the adjacent side of the drum.

A removable pulley flange I8 having the form more of a ring is secured to the outer surface of the drum inwardly of the shoulder i5 by means of stud bolts or the like is.

The opposed faces of the flanges ll and I8 are inclined to combine in forming a V-pulley to receive a conventional V-belt 29 driven by the motor 6 of the tractor.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the removable flange i8 may be interchangeably mounted in position at either side of the drum 7 so that the belt 20 may be utilized to drive the traction wheel at either side thereof.

In View of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to b understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and within the scope of the appended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A traction wheel comprising a drum having outwardly offest circular sides concentric to said drum and each reduced in diameter relative to the drum and embodying radially spaced apart circumferential shoulders forming on said sides outwardly oifest half sections of a V-belt pulley thereon at opposite sides of said drum of smaller diameter than said drum, a half pulley section comprising a ring complementing either offset half section, and means to secure said ring to either offset half section to complete the pulley at opposite sides of the drum selectively.

HERMAN C. ESCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 587,806 Fox Aug. 10, 1897 614,665 Morris Nov. 22, 1898 1,276,173 Carpenter Aug. 20, 1918 1,610,588 Rawson Dec. 14, 1926 2,006,145 Maurey June 25, 1935 2,269,546 Neighbour Jan. 13, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 19,611 Great Britain 1914 731,584 France Sept. 5, 1932 

